Pascal's Triangle
by Iridescent Swan
Summary: Every morning, Angela would greet Waffle Island's Captain Pascal. Every morning, Pascal would tell her that he couldn't sail off the island due to the dangerous currents around the island, even though it was a normal, sunny day. Was Pascal really telling her the truth? If not, why does he keep lying? This is Pascal's story. Entry to the Generation Dare of the Dares Forum!


**YAY FOR NON-CANON COUPLES! :D (Weird alert!)**

**Entry for the Generation Dare in the Dares Forum! :) I FINISHED IT WOOHOO!**

**By the way, you guys don't mind if I changed some names a bit to at least make them sound..."groovy" or what, right?**

**Disclaimer:**

**Let x= Iris**

**y= Natsume**

**Obviously, x is not equal to y. Hence, we can assume that x does not own Harvest Moon, which is a property of y.**

Pascal's Triangle

I am a ship. Yes, you heard right. I. Am. A. Ship. A seafaring vessel made of metal and wood, held together by screws and bolts, dotted with holes called "windows" and streaked with dashes of brownish red rust. Although I am not prodded with those tall sticks called "masts" where huge pieces of cloth called "sails" are hung using ropes, I am still, by definition, a ship.

Why, do you hear that? No, not that wretched cat's wheezing as it spits out this morning's ball of fur. That sound, you know, of leather coming into contact with sand; the _shook_ sounds made as boots sink into the soft, loose ground. Ah, there's the familiar whistle. It must be the farmer then...

"Good morning Pascal!" she'd greet.

"Top of the morning, Miss Angela!" he'd reply.

Then they'd have some chit chat about random things under the sun. Now although we ships could smell, hear and, ultimately, "feel", we couldn't see. So I'll just tell you what these two look like, according to what I've heard from the people who hang around me that think it's safe to gossip near a ship. The one who's always wearing boots is the farmer named "Angela". Based on my knowledge alone, she passes by the docks every morning and greets Pascal. She usually has a fishing pole in hand, but this time she's got what seems like a "watering can". Well, this girl once said that she's got hair that looks like a tree's trunk or something, but meanwhile the companion of that person, a guy, said it looked more like soil. Her hair must probably look terrible if that's the case. Unless they were just talking about color. But either way, having someone compare your hair to soil must be bad... Anyways, the guy also says she's got nice skin though. White. Like clouds. (I wonder how people react if she's got too much water in her though. If her skin's like clouds, then wouldn't she be a walking storm if she's full of water? Ah well. Must be how she waters her plants...) Meanwhile, Pascal's this guy whose hair is "like wool". Someone also said he had "sideburns", but I don't think he ever got burned or anything... Ah well. Other than that, he's got small brown eyes, this cap that covered his head (so no one could tell whether he was bald or not, I guess...), and he always held a pipe in his right hand. Anyways, they're nearing the end of their conversation now.

"I'm sorry Miss Angela," Pascal says. "I can't sail out my boat just yet. The currents are still dangerous..."

Dangerous my mast. (What? If humans say stuff like "dangerous my ass" even if they don't have a donkey, then I'm saying "dangerous my mast" even if I don't have one.)Pascal and I both know full well how peaceful the sea actually is...

I hear the farmer laugh. The boy once commented that Angela's laugh sounded like bells. Her laugh didn't sound at all like bells to me... I don't have a bell myself (I'll explain later why), but I know what those things sound like. Angela's laugh sounded like a goose honking.

"Okay, Pascal! You don't need to remind me that every time we talk," she tells him. Yes actually, Pascal does say that to her even when doesn't ask him if they could sail off. "Anyways, have a nice day, Pascal! I gotta go grab stuff from the General Store!"

"Good day to you, Miss Angela!" he replied.

_Thook thook thook_.

Those were the sounds of Pascal's boots hitting the wooden planks of the docks beside me. When he's probably about two meters in front of me, he sighs and puffs out a cloud of smoke.

"Another lie spent, eh?" he says to nothing. Yeah, it's surprising how that Angela girl keeps buying the whole "the currents are dangerous" thing. Even that scaredy cat (hehe get it?) that hates water could tell whether the sea is rough or not. Even more surprising is how many times Pascal's lied to her. Pascal is a good man, I tell you. He's the most responsible man that's ever handled me. Oh, his boots tell me he's turning around. Must be looking at that triangle again...

Remember how I mentioned earlier that I didn't have any bell of sorts? Well that's because instead of a bell, Pascal uses a triangle. As in this piece of metal that's shaped like a triangle and makes a sound when another piece of metal hits it. Collectively, those two pieces of metal make the "triangle" instrument.

Now how could a person hear a triangle in the midst of a storm?

The thing is, that triangle is just plain weird. A breeze that could nearly tip me over blows by? The triangle doesn't make a sound. A hot, windless day? It _tings_ like there's not tomorrow. Maybe it's got to do with the weird girl that used to own it...

Now listen up. You've got questions, right? First, why does Pascal keep telling Angela that they can't sail away? Next, why does Pascal lie at all? Lastly, what is wrong with this triangle, and who is this weird girl that used to own it?

Let's start with that first question.

About a little less than three weeks ago, Pascal and I stopped over at the mainland and he was repairing me. I admit... I'm not exactly the newest model around. But I'm still pretty classy. Just...rusty. Anyways, it was a cool but windless morning but that triangle kept _ting_-ing like mad after Pascal said "alright, time to go back to the island old boy". So we stayed for about two days since the triangle _ting_-ed on both days, and on the third day when it stopped, the little lassie named "Angela" comes over and asks if we're the ship that's headed for Waffle Island. Turns out she saw this brochure that the mayor told us to circulate last year, and the mayor's made arrangements with her.

On our way back, Pascal interviews her and such, making her feel welcome and all that. When we caught sight of the island though, the triangle _tings_ just as I felt a disturbance up ahead. The next thing we knew, there was a violent storm that met us head-on. After that, the little lassie passes out just as the triangle stops _ting-_ing. Huh. She probably isn't used to the sea... So Pascal took her to her room and was about to close it when she started mumbling in her sleep. Something about helping someone...

Now when Pascal heard that, he stops dead in his tracks and whispers in relief and awe, "this is it."

So now that we've got the first question down (vaguely...), let's go and rewind to, say, 40 years ago. I was the newly-released ship model then. I was also the birthday gift for Pascal, who was then called "Cal".

"Oy Cal! Let's take out your new baby for a ride!" someone says. I was extremely excited for my very first voyage, but I was also kinda nervous. After all, who's to say if this 21-year old would know what to do if a storm comes along?

I heard this pleasant laugh, which I found out later was Cal's. "Ever the impatient hothead, eh Ram? Let's bring Ham along!"

So these three buttheads brought me out to my first voyage. They also brought those abominations called "rum" along with them. Those things smelled foul and left that smell to linger long after they get spilled.

My first voyage was, as you probably could have predicted, horrible. They spilled rum all over me, especially that clumsy piece of ham called Ham. What's more was that a storm hit us just when the three were drunk like mad. Fortunately, Cal was able to bring me in one piece. Not before Ham vomited and passed out near my stern, however. Those three were pure imbeciles back then...

So anyway, Cal told Ram to go ahead to what is now known as the Sundae Inn. There was another establishment nearby, but it was a small warehouse of sorts that contained fishing rods, ropes, fish and all that, and added to this all of the citizens stayed together in only one establishment when a storm arose back then. Cal was bravely trying to tie me to the dock, but he was failing badly. I seriously thought I'd go underwater due to the waves, but then this...new person came along and helped him.

I remember lightning flashed and hit a tree somewhere, and then this new person suggested that the two of them stay over at the warehouse for shelter. I never knew what happened in there, but one thing was for sure. Cal was never the same again.

Like I said, this was 40 years ago. 40 years ago, Pascal would have cared for each lie he spent. But something had happened, something had changed and redirected the course of his life forever.

He fell in love.

Cheesy and cliché as that may sound, this was true. 40 years ago, Cal obviously was not the wise and respected Captain Pascal. 40 years ago, he was not a man in the golden age of 60 with a crown (and sideburns) of white. 40 years ago, he was not a smoker, lonely standing at the docks every night.

So now that we've answered why Pascal lies, let's head on to our last two questions.

Ever since that night, I felt that this new person (a girl, I later found out) was weird. Her presence felt like air to me, but I felt life in her. She appeared during twilight (meaning both sunset and sunrise) and disappeared right after, which sent Pascal crazy. She also ran away if she felt other people come near them.

If she's not weird, then I'd call her creepy. The day after the storm, Cal came out of the warehouse with the girl. They got to know each other a bit, and I tell you, I heard her say this: "you're the one". Kids, never tell someone you've known for less than 12 hours that they're "the one". That is just...well let's say "player alert" for guys and "stripper alert" for girls. If you don't know what those are, these are people that make sensible people like Pascal turn into smokers. Or drinkers. Or drug addicts. (I've always wondered why people who love drugs are called "drug addicts" instead of "druggers").

Well, Pascal didn't hear that though. But if he had, then he probably might have stayed away. But oh well, what's done is done...

Long story short, this girl, _Sephia_, she later revealed, only appeared to Cal. She also only stayed near the shore. One day, she felt "heavy". Sad, if you will.

"What's wrong, darling?" Cal told her. I never knew why Cal never felt like something was weird about her. But then I heard this guy was, according to the other girls back then, a gentleman, who never really touched girls in case they'd be offended (he's a coward if you ask me...but they do have a point).

"Nothing, Pascal," she replied to him.

"Aww, come on," he replied. "We both know something is bothering you. What is it? Could I help?"

If I could see, I could tell you that Sephia smiled sadly as she said, "I miss the color of rainbows that once painted this island's skies. Do you not notice that? I miss the shine the flowers and crops once gave off. But above all, I guess I miss the song of nature, especially the song of the birds..."

The next morning, Cal ironically butchered a bird.

Well, that's what I initially thought. Turns out, he was playing some weird tune on that instrument called a "flute". I felt pity for both Sephia and Cal. Sephia because she must have felt even more sick because of that insult to birdsong. Cal because, well "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Who knew what Sephia would have done to him?

Surprisingly, Sephia applauded him. She said it was the most beautiful thing a mortal (weird alert!) had done for her. Right after that though, she admitted that perhaps, he was "better off with a different groove", or instrument.

"Is this a..." Cal started.

"A triangle, yes," Sephia whispered. "A small instrument, yet it could speak volumes when you stop and listen to it."

"Alright!" he said. "I'll bring it with me always. I'll hang it on my ship!"

I heard her cough. Cal is immediately worried.

"Are you alright, Sephia? Let's go to my friend, Irene. She'll know what to do—"

"No!" Sephia cried out. (If I had eyebrows, I would have raised them at that.) "I am alright. Goodnight, Pascal."

"Sephia, why won't you just call me Cal?" he replied. "All of my friends do."

I felt Sephia's bare feet turn in the sand in order to face him. "I prefer calling you Pascal. To make myself different, hmm?"

I tell you, she sounded suspiciously suggestive at that moment... I recall Cal's reply clearly: "you've always been different, Sephia."

Each and every single day after that, I felt Cal's desire to hold her, or simply even just touch her hand, grow stronger with each day. He never had the chance to.

It was the middle of fall. I could tell they've clearly fallen (for each other, get it? Yes? No? Aww...). One sunset, Sephia felt "lighter" than usual; as if she was barely made of wisps of air.

"Let's bring you home, shall we?" Cal offered.

"No!" Sephia cried out. She never did let him bring her home...

I could tell that Cal frowned. "You've clearly been sick, Sephia. Let me bring you home, just this once."

Sephia stood up, but just then, out of weakness perhaps, she fell down.

Like I said, we ships couldn't see. But I could tell that Cal tried to catch her and she just...slipped through his fingers. I then never felt him so surprised and confused, never before and never afterwards.

"S-Sephia?" he said. I heard a bit of fear in his voice.

She gasped. "I-I'm so sorry!"

Cal must have tried to hold her or something, but I'm guessing he failed since Sephia whispered, "it's no use, Pascal. I'm sorry."

"Are you she?" Cal asked her. "She whose veins run through our island? Are you she that once brought rainbows to smile down upon us? She that once smiled at the crops that shone? She whose presence once called the birds of the sky and caused nature to sing? Are you...are you the Goddess?"

There was a long silence. If I had a heart, it would have hammered wildly; if I had fingers, then my nails would have all been chewed off out of suspense.

"Yes."

She disappeared after that. But that wasn't her last appearance.

"I feel...I feel so cold, Pascal," she told him. It was Winter's Eve and Cal nearly fell into the water when we both heard Sephia call out his name.

Her voice was so...airy? Breathy? "I don't think I could...I could come and...and see you..."

"What can I do, Sephia?" he asked. "I swear I'll do anything—everything."

"I don't know... It isn't you..."

"What do you mean 'it isn't me'?" he said angrily. "Haven't I seen and talked to you the past year? Haven't I been here every single day?"

His voice cracked. "Haven't you...chosen me?" I noted the emphasis on "chosen".

"I have... But to bring me back...it isn't you," she said.

"But what can I do?"

"You can find her," she replied. "You can find the one that will bring back life to this island. It might take time...but I know that it is you who will find this person."

Sephia was starting to feel like wisps of air again.

"Sephia!" Cal cried out.

"My triangle... Do you remember?" Sephia asked.

Cal nodded.

Sephia continued, "listen to it when it whispers, listen to it when it cries. You may not see me...but I promise."

For the first time since we encountered her, she felt solid. She put her hand to his heart and said, "I will be here."

She must have summoned all that she had left in order to do that because right after that, I felt her presence no longer and heard Cal's bitter cries.

Did you note how I was only referred to as "ship"? I didn't have a name until Spring the next year. _Devoir_. Not a bad name, eh? It meant duty; and somehow devotion. This also symbolized how Cal—or rather Pascal, as he started calling himself—devoted the rest of his life to looking for that person who'd bring life back to the island. We ran into someone that we thought was "the one". His name was Kevin. But one day, he asked Pascal to bring him to the mainland in order to buy something, but he never came back. And so when Angela came along, Pascal decided not to let her off the island until he saw proof that she was working on saving Sephia.

"My word!" Pascal cried out. What? What? I seriously want to cry out badly right now. Dang it Pascal, just shout out in shock whatever it is you see!

I hear his pipe clatter to the ground and...okay, I don't know what that sound is. It's...like a cross between a cry and a laugh. Or perhaps it is one?

"A rainbow!" he finally cries out. "A rainbow...by goodness a rainbow!"

Well there you go! A rainbow. So that's why Angela held a watering can instead of a fishing pole today... I guess she finally learned that you had to make rainbows using water, not with fish. If I had a heart, I'd say it swelled with pride. Would you look at that, Pascal. Guess you wouldn't have to lie anymore. And I guess this time, he'd now ask Angela every single morning if she'd like to sail to Toucan Island...

**AN I obviously have no knowledge on slang from 40 years ago T.T But mehhhh. Another note, the commentaries throughout the story weren't by me, but by Devoir. Heehee.**

**Fast fact: You guys know that we can search stories by searching up a character, right? Did you know that "Pascal" isn't on the list of HM characters in the search thingo? I was like "WHAT THE?"**

**This was inspired by the many times I raised my eyebrows because of the many times Pascal said he couldn't bring me off Waffle Island (before I got Daren's Rainbow). Meanwhile, I'd complain to the TV screen and cry out, "I was just coming to say hi, for goodness sakes!" xD **

**By the way, anyone who knows about a REAL "Pascal's Triangle"? :))))**


End file.
